I used to consider myself a very patient, compassionate and understanding person when it came to interacting with others and hearing their stories. However, since my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in early 2016, I’ve noticed that this is one of the most significant changes I’ve noticed within myself. This is especially true when it comes to my patience, and overall ability to cope in social situations or in large crowds of people.

Without a doubt, there are more things that annoy me than ever before. While they may seem small and insignificant to others; certain things can irritate me to no end now and I am working on developing better coping skills to deal with this as opposed to letting them annoy me. Here are some of the “little” things I find increasingly annoying or frustrating since my IPF / PF diagnosis:

1. Crying or misbehaving children: I used to love spending time with children, especially those with mental health difficulties or high behaviours. I enjoyed this so much that I made a career out of it. While I am working, I still have the patience and competence to support children who rely on me. However, when I am in the grocery store or eating at a restaurant, I am increasingly annoyed when children are loud, crying or misbehaving. This makes me sound heartless, and I promise I’m not.

2. Careless drivers: I am in and out of the closest urban city once per week for various appointments and due to this, I am often driving on one of the busiest Canadian highways. When drivers are inconsiderate of others on the road, or are not following the speed limit (including driving too slow) or don’t signal, this elevates my frustration very quickly.

3. Seemingly irrelevant meetings / processes: I have little patience for processes or meetings that have been previously discussed. It feels like a waste of time, and I think part of this annoyance is that I don’t want to waste the time I have discussing things that have already consumed my time and energy. This is particularly applicable to things at work.

While it could be argued that many other people would find these things annoying also, it is definitely something I never was impacted by before my IPF diagnosis. I have very little patience these days, and feel ‘safest’ and most comfortable within the four walls of my own home. Back in February, I wrote a column about changes I’m noticing within myself and rhetorically asked whether or not it could be anxiety.

I suppose this increased impatience and annoyance could also be attributed to anxiety? I’m really not sure.

Have you experienced an increase in annoyances since your IPF/PF diagnosis?

If so, how do you deal with them and do you have any idea why this occurs?

I think I can somewhat identify with your comment. I had to fax something today and used Staples. They totally screwed it up so I left but when I got in the car I was incendiary for 15 minutes. 6 months ago – would never happen. Hope that doesn’t happen again, it is certainly not useful but it may well may related to stress.

Thanks so much for getting in touch and sharing a bit about your experience with this topic. It is one that I am definitely interested in hearing from others about as I am not pleased to admit that I find myself more annoyed over little things than I ever was before! However, it brings me a bit of comfort to know that others have experienced this as well.

I also fly off the handle when little things go wrong, or aren’t done how they should be and you’re right, it isn’t useful. Sorry to hear of this experience, and you are likely correct, in that it is stress related. I think mine might also be anxiety-related, although I don’t typically feel anxious or how I would presume one to feel if they were anxious? I have no idea and don’t even know where to look to find some answers. All I know is that it is hard to deal with, so thank you for sharing.

Because of the deep rooted nature of what we are facing, stress and anxiety can mug us sometimes by raising its’ ugly head without any announcement. Since I was reborn 16.5 years ago, I know I need to change a lot of how I used to think and act. This is an example of a need in me to remain humble regardless of the circumstances – a work in progress. I’m just glad I waited until I got in the car to vent. There is so much more going on in my life than this small incident so it was the tip of the proverbial iceberg that turned into a brief volcano…

Thanks for getting back to me again regarding this topic. It is one I find interesting, as I’ve been chatting in person to a few patients who are living with IPF as well, and this is definitely something they experience as well. While I’m not glad they “get it”, it does give me some relief and comfort in knowing I am not the only one trying to navigate an increase in things that annoy me…

I appreciate your sharing, and the reminder that since what we are dealing with is so deep-rooted, it is important to give ourselves some grace around facing things like depression and anxiety. I think if we didn’t experience a little bit of these things, it might reflect unhealthy coping. Maybe all of these things are normal based on what we’re going through. Who knows, unfortunately there is no rule book that tells us what’s normal and what isn’t for this illness!

Hang in there Steve, and thanks for being such an active part of our forums community. Wishing you well!
Charlene.

Pulmonary Fibrosis News Today

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